Means for recharging the accumulator and respectively for charging or extracting data from a portable electronic instrument, such as a watch, are known in the prior art, particularly from EP Patent Application No. 1 109 084 and EP Patent Application No. 1 134 630. In these two documents, the watch a case containing an electronic module controlled via at least one control member having electric contact means accessible from outside the case. The control member is capable of occupying a first non pushed-in position in which no electric connection is established between the electric contact means and the electronic module and a second pushed-in position in which an electric connection is established between the electric contact means and the electronic module.
In EP Patent Application No. 1 109 084, the watch is powered by a rechargeable accumulator and includes two control members for controlling the horological functions, each of the control members being connected to a respective pole of the accumulator after pressure on said members.
In EP Patent Application 1 134 630, the watch includes an internal electronic unit and at least one control member for controlling a horological function, the control member also being used to transmit and/or receive data with an external communication unit such as a personal computer.
In the two aforementioned documents, no mention is made of the adaptation means used to make the interface between the watch and the charger or the personal computer.
There is known from the prior art, particular from U.S. Pat. No. 6,319,034, the use of a communication interface between a portable electronic instrument and an external communication unit. This communication interface includes a support having a cavity for receiving the portable instrument. The cavity is wider than the instrument and has, on one side, an elastic surface and, on the other side, a mobile element that can be manually actuated so as to compress the portable instrument between the elastic surface and the mobile element. In order to transmit data between the communication interface and the portable instrument, the mobile element is provided with connection elements that plug into terminals of the instrument provided specifically for that purpose.
However, such a communication interface has certain drawbacks. Thus, the use of a manually actuated mobile element requires, on the one hand, means for actuating said mobile element which prove complex and expensive and, on the other hand, particular care by the user to ensure the electric connection between the communication interface and the portable instrument is properly established. It will also be noted that since the connection elements are carried by the mobile element, the connection terminals have to be arranged in the same zone, which causes expensive manufacturing constraints for the instrument.
Moreover, as mentioned hereinbefore, the connection terminals used are specifically provided for communications between the portable instrument and the interface, which imposes, on the one hand, constraints as regards the arrangement of the conventional control members, and which raises, on the other hand, additional problems of sealing as regards the case of the portable instrument. One solution, which would consist in using the control members described in EP Patent Application No. 1 109 084 and EP Patent Application No. 1 134 630 is undesirable insofar as it would require providing an even more complex mobile element, or even several mobile elements depending upon the distribution of the control members.